Paying for College

Submitting the FAFSA is an easy way to discover federal aid you could potentially receive. 55% of enrolled students receive financial aid. Remember that many other forms of aid—like scholarships and grants—might also request you to file the FAFSA for need evaluation. Use the checklist in the drop-down below titled “Steps for Financial Aid” to help you file your financial aid. BHCC’s School Code is 011210.

Free Community College

The MassEducate and MassReconnect programs allow all Massachusetts residents who have not yet earned a bachelor’s degree to attend BHCC for free. No tuition. No fees. And both programs include an allowance for books and supplies for certain students. To get started, apply to the college and fill out a FAFSA. To learn more about the two programs that fund free community college and the steps you need to take to enroll in community college at BHCC for free, visit MassEducate and MassReconnect.

Additional funding may also be available through the MassGrant program for degree-seeking, full-time community college students.

By starting at BHCC, you could lower the cost of your bachelor’s degree by as much as 49%. Programs such as MassTransfer and Commonwealth Commitment offer Massachusetts residents thousands of dollars in added savings toward a college education. 

Learn more about our transfer partnerships with Massachusetts area colleges and universities.

BHCC awards more than a million dollars in scholarships each year through endowments and other institutional scholarships.

Learn more about the scholarships BHCC offers.

In general, students who are US citizens, permanent residents, or other eligibility non-citizens may be eligible for in-state tuition rates if they have lived in Massachusetts for at least 6 continuous months prior to semester attending and intend to remain in Massachusetts.

Learn more about In-State Tuition

Learn more about Tuition Equity

BHCC offers monthly and bi-weekly automatic payment plans to make it easier for students to pay their college tuition.

Learn more about the College’s payment plans.

• Complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You can complete your FAFSA online at studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. Please be sure to include BHCC on the list of schools to receive your information. BHCC’s school code is 011210. It usually takes 3-5 business days for BHCC to receive your FAFSA information once you have submitted it online. Don’t forget that you need to complete a new FAFSA for every year you are in college.
• Complete your Financial Aid File at BHCC. Most students will need to provide some additional information to complete their financial aid file at BHCC. The information you need to provide will be viewable through your myBHCC Self-Service account as soon as BHCC receives your FAFSA information. We will also email you and mail information to your home address. Students are often asked to provide IRS tax transcripts and verification worksheets to complete their file. Once you give BHCC all of the documents on your list, you should receive your financial aid award information in 2-3 weeks.
• Review your Financial Aid Award. Once a counselor has reviewed your file, an email notifying you that your financial aid offer is ready will be sent to your BHCC email account. Log onto selfservice.bhcc.edu/Student/FinancialAid/Awards to view information about your financial aid eligibility. Your financial aid information is based on full-time enrollment. Please note that your financial aid will likely be adjusted if you enroll in fewer than 12 credits.

If you need to apply for additional financial aid in the form of student loans, please complete your Loan Entrance Counseling and Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) at studentaid.gov/entrance-counseling/. Then, submit your loan request amount through selfservice.bhcc.edu/Student/FinancialAid/LoanRequest by clicking on Request a Loan.

• Receive your Financial Aid. If you have a larger financial aid award than the amount of your bill, you can use a portion of your financial aid to pay for your books by bringing a photo ID and a copy of your schedule to the BHCC Bookstore before classes begin. Your actual financial aid dollars will be credited to your account during the middle of the semester after your enrollment level has been verified, book charges have been added to your account and all NA grades have been reported by your professors. This generally happens in mid-October for the fall semester and in mid-March for the spring semester.